In 1830 actual settlement of the area began at Old Dallas (the original county seat of Polk County).  Arkansas entered its statehood in 1836.   The state legislature voted to make our area Polk County, Arkansas, in 1844 and the first court house was erected at Dallas, Arkansas.  Polk County is named after President James K. Polk.  Polk County was formed from part of Sevier County Arkansas.

Arthur Edward Stilwell, a man whose dream was to build a railroad from Kansas City to the Gulf of Mexico, went to Holland in 1893 to sell $3,000,000 in stock issues for what is known as the Kansas City, Pittsburg, and Gulf Railroad.  The Dutch invested heavily and names of towns like Stotesbury, Mena, DeQueen, De Ridder, Amsterdam, and Hornbeck reflect the names of the Dutch investors.

The new railroad missed the county seat, Dallas, but stopped at a town (developed by Stillwell) called Mena.  In a short time Mena became a very important town between Fort Smith and Texarkana, Arkansas.

In June of 1897 a county wide election moved the county seat from Dallas to Mena.  The vote was 738 to 1 inside Mena and county wide 70 to 13.  The vote carried and in August of 1897 Mena became the county seat of Polk County, Arkansas.

The Ouachita National Forest dominates a great portion of Polk County's 860 square miles of land.  Rich Mountain which is Northwest of Mena is the second highest mountain in the State of Arkansas rising to the height of 2,682 feet.  The Ouachita Mountains (pronounced Wash-i-ta) with a mountain range that runs east to west.  The 54 mile U. S. Scenic Drive, the Talimena Scenic Drive, winds its way from Mena, Arkansas, to Talihina, Oklahoma, across the ridge of Rich Mountain affording vista looks-outs along the way.  The peak of Rich Mountain is 2,861 feet.  It contains, in a single square mile, more species of wild plants, flowers, and weeds in their natural state than can be found anywhere else in the world on a similar tract of land.

The economic base is made up of lumber and wood products, tree farming, cattle and poultry.  Some light manufacturing and service industries contribute to the economy.

Atop Rich Mountain, you'll find the Queen Wilhelmina State Park complete with lodge, restaurant and meeting rooms.  The original lodge was built by the railroad for Queen Wilhelmina of Holland, who helped finance the railroad.  The lodge was purchased by the State of Arkansas in 1958 and restored.  In 1973 the lodge was destroyed by fire; however, it was immediately rebuilt to its present architecture.

Polk County, Arkansas, has three main watersheds.  The Cossatot River which headwaters in the Shady community, meanders South through the Cossatot State Park, feeds into Gillham Lake, and continues south until it merges with the Little River in Sevier County.

The Ouachita River headwaters in the northwest corner of Polk County, Arkansas, and continues southeasterly feeding into Lake Ouachita in Montgomery County, Arkansas, and Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

Only experienced canoeists need to float the area rivers.

The Mountain Fork River headwaters in the Mountain Fork community of Polk County, Arkansas, and flows south down the west side of the county until it enters the eastern side of Oklahoma and feeds into Broken Bow Lake at Beavers Bend State Park near Broken Bow, Oklahoma.  This river continues south and feeds into Little River.

Polk County also has other major watersheds including the Rolling Fork River, Six Mile Creek and Big Fork Creek.  The county is blessed with an abundance of forested mountains, creeks, and rivers.  Timber is one of the main industries of the county.